LAHORE, Sept 17: President of Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat started his tenure with an unconstitutional step converting a luncheon into a general council meeting in Islamabad on Sept 12.

According to PFF constitution, general council meeting should be held once a year in the month of August with a notice to all the members 21 days before the meeting.

Faisal, also the interior minister, was elected in Aug 28 general council meeting in Lahore which he did not attend due to pressing official engagement.

After taking over the charge, he invited the general council at a lunch on Sept 12, but later informed the members that it should be considered as general council meeting.

On the objection raised by some members, the president said the general council made the constitution and they (members) were   the real constitution, therefore, they could grant a special permission.

The president further said he could again call a general council meeting but that would be the loss of funds and time.

Meanwhile, the former secretary PFF Hafiz Salman Butt got the signatures of majority of general council members on his application to waive off the remaining period of 10-year suspension imposed on him by the PFF general council in Aug 1994.

All the eight general council members from departments signed the application, while from the provinces Saeed Khan (NWFP), Aziz Malik and Rashid Chowdhry (Punjab), Naseebullah (Balochistan) also gave their approval.

The PFF secretary Arshad Khan Lodhi, current senior vice-president Syed Agha Liaquat Ali, and vice-president Abbas Baloch, Jan Mohammad Mari (Balochistan) did not sign.